Being honest with you:

I was sifting thru scores of get rich quick scams and multilevel marketing pitches looking for some basic instruction on setting up a small and only vaguely profitable side business on the internet. Pocket money, that’s all. Since I don’t know much about marketing or business on the internet it took me a while of sifting to find some basic info about how to do this and I wanted to share it with you. I’m not asking for anything, I am not selling anything. This is just an instructional blog of sorts.

I’m not rich. I will probably never be rich. If I was I would be living aboard the QM2 and not sitting in my office writing this when I should be doing actual work. If you want to get rich you usually have to have a really good idea and some money to start off with. I have neither. Is that enough to convey my transparency?

The basic idea:

Affiliate programs allow you (and this is the simplified version) to get a link that you dole out to people that allows you to get credit for referring them. Lets say my friend wants to buy a guitar and I buy my guitars online at abcmusic.com. I tell him that he should get his guitar at abcmusic.com but instead I link him to abcmusic.com?=bhirsch492. Why? When abcmusic.com see’s that last part, it means I referred someone, so when my buddy gets a guitar, I get, lets say $5 from abcmusic.com. This doesn’t cost my friend a dime, and the store gained a new customer.

How to go step by step:

1) Get a domain name. You have to have a starting point for people to sign up for things from, and a place to direct traffic. You can end up using it for a place to post your pics, blogs, etc. Anything you want to use it for, so already its purposeful outside of this. There are a ton of sites to buy domain names from. I own a number of names and have been using www.1and1.com for a while. They are competitively priced, no surprises, and they work. Yeah, its buying stuff, but a domain goes for between $1 and $6 on average for a one year period. So this isn’t too hefty an investment, and as I said, you can use it for other stuff too. Get a name that’s short, simple to spell, and maybe revolves around your interest or something others may find interesting.

2) Find an affiliate. Just search, there are directories of them such as www.affiliatescout.com. It can be overwhelming and there are endless options. I can suggest www.slotland.com for good returns if you want to promote gambling. www.hotelscombined.com is a solid one because while payouts are low, when people see the usefulness they will actually use it, comparing hotel rates between most of the popular online travel companies all at once. I actually use this for looking for hotels myself.

3) Forward your domain name, or content that you can create and put on a basic website on your domain name to your affiliate link. It could be as simple as forwarding your domain  www.greatfijihotelvalues.com to your affiliate link at www.hotelscombined.com. You can even tell it to go right to deals in Fiji. If you want to make it more fancy you could set up a page with great articles written by your friends who just got back from Fiji, some of their pics, and suggest they go on www.hotelscombined.com to find a deal on a trip just like the one your article/blog raved about. The options are endless as you get more into it.

4) Now, and this is essentially the last step, you have to get people to that page. This is where your results are based on your creativity and ingenuity. You can make flyers, magnets, car stickers. Those are somewhat traditional. Additionally there are endless articles on search engine manipulation, payperclick advertising opportunities, etc. Have a myspace or facebook? Mention on there that you took a vacation and decided to make it easier to find great rates by using your own website. Put a banner on your blog that links to your online gambling affiliate. If it’s not costing consumers money then they will happily use something that works for them and is a payout to you.

This is a very basic guide, and I have skipped lots of details. I encourage you to read more about affiliate marketing, white-label marketing, payperclick advertising, and more. This can start basic and get very involved, though only minimal experience with the internet is necessary. Base your ideas on things that interest you and it will make it much easier to want to do more. Again, you’re not gonna get rich, but if you can set up a way to payout enough to pay a phone bill, car payment, etc, its way more than you had before.